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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Sen. Ted Kennedy died shortly before midnight Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 77.The man known as the “liberal lion of the Senate” had fought a more than year-long battle with brain cancer, and according to his son had lived longer with the disease than his doctors expected him to. . . .A hardworking, well-liked politician who became the standard-bearer of his brothers’ liberal causes, his career was clouded by allegations of personal immorality and accusations that his family’s clout helped him avoid the consequences of an accident that left a young woman dead.

There is a time and place for political analysis and criticism. Not now.Yes, there will be a nauseating excess of MSM hagiographies and lionizations -- and crass calls to pass the health care takeover to memorialize his death.That’s no excuse to demonstrate the same lack of restraint in the other direction. Not now.

OK, I'll risk the Boss's umbrage and explain why I've so often used that "could not be reached for comment" line I stole from Ann Coulter.

It has often been written that Mary Jo Kopechne "drowned." She didn't. The cause of death was asphyxiation -- there was an air pocket inside the overturned car, and Mary Jo lived long enough to breathe the last remaining oxygen in that air pocket. And while Mary Jo was breathing her last . . . what did Ted Kennedy do?

Well, among other things, he began trying to concoct a cover-up story: "Why couldn't Mary Jo have been driving the car? . . . Why couldn't she have let him off and driven to the ferry herself and made a wrong turn?" His own cousin, Joe Gargan, talked Ted out of attempting to get away with that.

Kennedy beat the rap. Multiple witnesses have testified that Kennedy had been drinking all day. It was a clear-cut case of vehicular manslaughter, but he was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

The media will forgive liberals anything. Just look at the passive-voice construct in his obit: "an accident that left a young woman dead."

Forgiven by the media, liberals are shameless about such things. And so, in subsequent years, Americans were often subjected to the shameful spectacle of Ted Kennedy, the Chappaquiddick swim champ, lecturing us in moralistic tones about this, that and the other.

Regarding Kennedy himself, they don’t exactly need to fire up the hagiography. Ted Kennedy’s image enhancement has been a life-long project that only requires the bow of a national funereal extravaganza. Served in the Army, 51-53, didn’t go to Korea, overcame a Harvard cheating scandal, slid into his big brother’s seat, held for him till he was old enough, dodged responsibility in the death of Mary jo Kopechne, though whether he dodged consequences is debatable.

I'm just grateful the old fraud finally had the decency to die, so that the torch could be passed to a new generation of decadent overprivileged swine.

UPDATE III: I have no idea why some of the commenters here are complaining that I have failed to be appropriately reverent toward the Kennedy mythology. It's not as if there were any shortage of media reverence out there:

In the quiet of a Capitol elevator, one of Edward M. Kennedy's fellow lawmakers asked whether he had plans for a family Thanksgiving away from the nation's capital. No, the Massachusetts senator said with a shake of his head, and mentioned something about visiting his brothers' gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.In his half-century in the public glare, Kennedy was, above all, heir to a legacy -- as well as a hero to liberals, a foil to conservatives, a legislator with few peers.

"Heir to a legacy"! Or, as Time magazine calls him, "The Brother Who Mattered Most." Well, he certainly was the one who mattered most to Mary Jo . . .

UPDATE IV: I'm called a "gutless little coward" by an anonymous blogger, but apparently I'm enough of a role model to be linked and quoted by a new blogger with a dilemma: "My first night blogging and Ted Kennedy dies. I don’t have much good to say about Kennedy," says A Conservative Shemale. NTTAWWT.

This letter which details Senator Edward Kennedy’s offer to help the Soviet Union defeat Reagan’s efforts to build up the nuclear deterrent in Europe was unearthed by a Times of London reporter in the 1990s after the KGB files were opened.It got little or no attention, however, until the publication of Paul Kengor's book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.

what exactly is your legacy???? Did you never drink, smoke, cheat on your wife, lie on you tax forms, lie to mask your mistakes....are you that much of a saint mccain...notice I did not use a capital "m"....you don't deserve it. Lets all find about you right now !!!!

I had hoped I was wrong about the content of your post based just upon your Title. It saddens me that you could not wait even a few days before spewing this venom.

Yes, every word is (likely) true. Yes, Ted Kennedy was a jerk. Today, that doesn't matter.

Today we can only hope that God looks on Ted Kennedy's sins the way we hope he'll look on our own. Today we we can mourne, if not for Senetor Edward Kennedy, then at least with his family. Today we can offer them words of Hope (true hope) that God does forgive, and that by God's Grace, they may see their brother/father/uncle/grandfather again.

Isn't tomorrow soon enough for what you've done here?

I am ashamed for you, since you obviously do not know enough to be ashamed for yourself.

Well, I do feel sorry for him and his family... while no fan, to be sure. And I'll say a prayer for Ted Kennedy and the rest of the clan (am Irish, after all)-

That said, Teddy Kennedy was a moral black hole, a truly self-absorbed and misguided man who did far more damage to this country than good... and I hope the country learns something from his myriad mistakes, so as not to repeat them in the future.

We can't afford any more self-deluded wishful thinking regarding the leadership of this country- ie. Kennedy and the Dear Leader.

Well said. I am a devotee of eastern religious thought and believe in a soul which takes up many bodies. Between lives, however, TK is likely in a sort of spiritual "time out" where he can reflect on the errors of a mis-spent life of very bad behavior. I hope he learns something . I'm also glad his baleful influence in now gone from our lives.

Thank you for writing this thoughtful and insightful reflection on what happened to Mary Jo Kopechne. Her death was a tragedy of blind, selfish power and excess that I have never forgotten. I think of her today and pray that she rests in peace. My sadness today is with her family and no where near Ted Kennedy's family.

You go, Michelle!! I dispise Ted Kennedy with every ounce of my being! It sickens me when a person passes away, and automatically becomes saint in the minds of those who eulogize them! Ted Kennedy is nothing less than a murderer in the first degree. He had plenty of time to consider his crime and still walked away...He and his family has not and will never be "staunch" catholics. They are a pack of liars, manipulators and cheaters.

I have to say, I do feel sadness for his death. I had no liking for the man, but as I posted on my own blog last night when I heard the news, I am sad as a Christian to see him go to meet his Maker with such crimes apparently unrepented staining his soul. I am sorry for any child of God to face the hereafter in that state, however glad I might be to see them leave this world.

So very true. He continued to run woman and drink after that. The media cover for all the Kennedy's back then and now. My mother was a Dem and said when he ran for president that he wouldn't make it . So he stayed in congress . Not so much as he was so good but he never let any one forget who his brothers were. Even close to death he was trying for his last dirty deed.To keep the governor from holding an election to fill his seat.

I hope you don't mind, but I quoted almost the whole of your posting over at my site because, as I explained there:

Having lived in the Nor-East all my life, and having him be the Senator since I was one, he always been a part of my life—frankly, never in a positive way. To anyone this morning who has asked for my thoughts, I have simply replied:

Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.

I fear if I write much more, the deep anger I have against him and his whole family will unhinge my observations and not cast a very good light on my character. Fortunately, Stacy McCain captures my hinged feelings exactly...

You may never use the Ann Coulter line again, but I will. Why? Why won't I give it a permanent rest? Because: I fully expect the Left to exploit his death in their endeavours to socialize health care. They have no shame, as they have well shown [if there was any doubt] these past few months, and will use any means necessary, including the death of their beloved standard bearer, to effect the passage of this monstrous plan. They have no honor.

Quoted from and linked to at:http://www.thecampofthesaints.com/2009.08.23_arch.html#1251297308156

I feel no joy in his death, just relief that he can no longer take from me and my family to fund ridiculas programs for every protected class out there. He was a honored guest at my UMASS graduation and I had the priviledge of shaking C. Everett Koops hand and saying " no thank you " to his handshake.

When Laura Bush dies, will any of righteous hypocrites write that "Michael Douglas wasn't available for comment"?

>>According to the two-page accident report, Laura Welch [Bush] was driving her Chevrolet sedan on a clear night shortly after 8 p.m. on Nov. 6, 1963, when she drove into an intersection and struck a Corvair sedan driven by 17-year-old Michael Douglas.

I DO understand how we can all agree to disagree on politics. And I DO understand showing respect for a senator with whom we argue philosophically.

But I will NEVER understand showing respect toward a man who essentially murdered another human being. He was in his mid-30s and a senator when he allowed Mary Jo to die from a lack of oxygen in just 8 feet of water. All to save his own rear.

He was a slime. I won't mourn cop-killers. I won't mourn convenience store robbers who shoot and kill innocent clerks. And I won't mourn Ted Kennedy.

The vehicular homicide law was changed in MA after Kennedy killed Mary Jo. Under that law he would have automatically be indicted for the crime. He was never charged and the law was CHANGED back after he skated. Just one of many instances where the Kennedys (men of "no convictions" unless you count the distant cousin in CT)get away with crimes. He had his 20+ marriage with multiple children annulled by the catholic church - does that make "Patches" (congressman from RI and the stupidest manboy in congress) a bastard child? Such is the Kennedy legacy.

Senator Ted Kennedy, was like all people "flawed". He may have tried to "Do Good" in his role in the Senate, but...much of life is judged by ..."what we do, when others are not watching".I was a cab driver in Boston, when Senator Kennedy the (Supporter of Women's Rights) was ...destroying the life of his real wife "Joan"...He cheated on her constantly, in a public manner, and when she tried to "leave the marriage"...was told by the Kennedy family, that "until Ted runs for President"...you are staying put....

With the Kennedy Power...she was only 1 step away from being institutionalized "on demand", and instead they turned Joan Kennedy, a loyal, good mother, and woman...into a pill - popping, drunk...

Image..."women of the USA" being held hostage by an evil man, for years as his "political puppet", until his ambitions to become President faded. Yes...he may have done some things politically that were "good"... But, the man's private life was "DISGUSTING".

Let's not turn him into a "HERO"....He's just someone with money and power...who got away with crimes that the "average man/woman" that he purported to "represent"...would have servered serious jail time for.

Finally something good for Mary Jo.. That cowardly scoundrel is gone.. Guess we never found out for sure either if she was pregnant or not, but if she was, this is something good for that unborn baby too. I agree we need a holiday for Mary Jo. And a celebration that at last the Kennedy rule has ended. On the political side, sure hope the governor doesn't get his wish to be able to appoint whoever he wants to hold the seat, and prevent fairness in the health care issue. I vote to celebrate that at last the Kennedy rule has ended.

Someone needed to say this, before all of Mr. Kennedy's bad behavior, antics, and, yes, murder of an innocent girl, are forgotten in the national mourning and funereal processes ... simply because he is a Kennedy.

I've lost my father and my sister to very tragic circumstances, so I do feel sorry for his family in that they've lost someone *they* love and respect, but that is where it ends.

I can only hope that the liberal thundering will NOT cause a sympathetic voting in of yet another liberal like Mr. Kennedy to take his place and his vote.

I am very disabled (I really *would* rather be working), and our president's new "healthcare" plan scares me to death; it's bad enough as it is, and I am *not* Kennedy-rich. Not even close.

It's a cinch that Mr. Kennedy never had to worry about how to pay for his treatments and medications like me -- and millions upon millions of others. Sometimes I have to NOT buy one VERY necessary medication in a month in order to be able to provide myself with another VERY necessary medication. The "new healthcare" plan will make this even worse.

Said same health care plan was backed by none other than Ted Kennedy. And in the past two weeks he was campaigning VERY hard to quit his Senate seat in order to have a hand-picked liberal seated in it so that person could vote Mr. Kennedy's agenda into law.

Thank you for writing the truth about his antics, missteps and his past, in general, before it gets lost in the days to come.

It needed to be said.

LauraTexas

(I would not have posted as 'Anonymous' as I am not ashamed of what I wrote. However, I do not have accounts at any of the sites listed, nor do I have a website.)

Would Teddy have to have faced a death panel? Or was he taking advantage of the best healthcare system that a corrupt political family's money could buy? Was he waiting for one of his beloved government bureaucrats to give "end of life counseling" mandated by the government? Or was he seeking out the best healthcare as mandated by his own wallet?

The swimmer will not be missed. This will hurt the socialist agenda. The swimmer was not a hero, a lion, a good senator or anything but, a drunken corrupt politican the east is famous for. The family money came from illegel enterprises (ie;bootlegger) so all of you that think the swimmer was nobel remember Mary Jo Kopechne. :)

I would suggest for all people who want to learn what "really happened" at Chappiquidick, they read an old book " TEDDY BARE ", which can be found online.

This tells as much of the "truth" that has come out about the whole incident. Of course there are rumors about the rest, but, you can read this as a basis.

I will say that on the night of Chappiquidick, Senator Kennedy claimed to swim across the channel that night, and then, went to an apartment/condo and got changed into new cloths, and went downstairs to be "seen" at a party. He had drinks...and talked to people at the party...while Mary Jo...was still underwater in the car...possibly alive. (Most people believe, he came over by boat, and then, got dressed for the party, hoping that he could craft a "cover story"....and that all the other people who knew the truth, could be "bought off" or "controlled" by the Kennedy money/power.

Who got paid off?....And what did they get?...hmmm....but, I would say that the movie starring George Clooney as a "professional fixer"...is probably an accurate example of what was done. I wish for history that the family of Mary Jo...would tell us for history...what happened when the Kennedy "fixers" visited them at their home. What they were told...happened...and ...what other "inducements", if any were given.

Based on what I have read about the incident...the family was really afraid of the "shame" that would be put in the press.

It was "alleged"...(I don't know specifically) that Mary Jo..."may"...repeat.."may".. have been found "without underpants on"...which was the "shame issue" that the family was trying to prevent from coming out in the press.

I would like to know if the Kennedy fixers...really told the family this...or ...even if this "was true"? (I have no doubt that when they pulled the car up...that if asked, the police and others on the island, would pull up her underpants, if given orders by Joe Kennedy Sr. who controlled the whole "damage control" opperation".

I would hope that Senator Kennedy has a "last will and testament" that states the "truth" for history....But, I suspect that as the "Phoney Catholic" he was ...(And I say this as a Catholic person)...that he used his religion to hide behind....not ...to embrace.

I don't know if in his last days...he "really asked for forgiveness" from his maker. I do hope he did.

But, that does not excuse him from the choices he has made. The book "Teddy Bare" (Decide for yourself after reading it.)

One should not speak ill of the dead. So I have no ill will towards the man or his family. They are coping with a death. I don't hate him, but I figure this is something God must sort out and so be it.

However, I'm just shocked because the more I learn about this guy, the more I realize he was NOT a good man. And the Mary Jo situation was an obvious case of at least manslaughter if not homicide. The events of that case should tell everyone what kind of guy he was.

Stalin, Mao, Pot, Castro, Chavez, Kennedy. The left just love their progressive, murderous thugs don't they? Mary Jo is the classic reminder of why character matters. Ted showed his that fateful day when he left her to die. Imagine the terror she felt in her last few minutes, struggling to breath while waiting for her Camelot to return and save her. This is a man to revere? His supporters have no shame, just like Ted.

I have to be perfectly honest. I did not know the story of Mary Jo until about 2 years ago. I am 48 yrs old. I always thought it was a true accident, at least by the way the media reported it. I am glad I have read enough over the last 2 years to now know just exactly what Ted Kennedy did. (or didn't do to help Mary Jo) Obviously, the internet has been helpful in getting out the truth. I pray for Mary Jo's family today.

I hope in his last momments, he could not escape the thought of his actions and that the last image in his mind is the face of that young girl whos death he never answered for. The only thing worse than the event itself is the fact that he continued to live a life of privlage afterwards.Furthermore, as a slap in the face of my fellow Vets, he is to be burried in hallowed ground at Arlington. I hope they at least bury him ass up so i have a place to park by bike.

As an Afghanistan vet, with friends buried in Arlington, I want this desecration stopped. Ted Kennedy does not deserve to be laid to rest amongst military heroes. I can't believe this is going to happen.

Yes, TK allowed MJK to drown in a panic to further his own political career. Shameful. He didn't kill as many as Bush/Cheney did for MONEY. Blackwater, Halliburton, Carlisle Group? Teddy is small change compared to the neocon homicidal death squads.

Mr. Kennedy, Where is your soul tonight? Hopefully, you truly believed in Jesus Christ, but I kinda doubt it. I may be wrong, perhaps I'll see you in Heaven. Oh by the way, heard from Mary Jo lately?Buwahahhahahhaahahhhahhhahahha

Well, RG. I kinda agree with you there. The country is in the hands of thugs and money-hungry murderers no matter what side of the political aisle they happen to fall on. That said, the Republicans are the worst of a bad lot. They talk the talk without walking the walk. Especially as regards Jesus who wasn't too fond of the money-changers, as I recall from the Bible.

To Jennifer: Has Obama brought the troops home? I personally feel there is NO difference between the Dem and Rep, except that most Democrats don't realize it. I know of no Republicans that wanted McCain-- and that is the way the ruling powers wanted it. Obama ran unopposed. It also keeps the sheeples scratching their heads and divided. The Kennedy brothers (with Robert being probably the most 'moral' were as disgusting as most powerful people (with the exception of RR). These powerful rich liberals want to do so much for others with the money of the middle class.I will send a prayer out for the pain of those whom will miss teddy boy---because I believe in karma!!

Perhaps there will now be some kind of peace for the soul of Mary Jo Kopechne, denied so long any form of justice for the loss of her life 40 years ago. I too hope the last thing TK saw before he died was her face. The Kennedy dynasty is finished at last, I pray their legacy is too.

Just because Ted Kennedy was repeatly re-elected in a totally liberal state and sponsored endless socialist bills, does not redeem his life of murder, adultery and alcolholism. He is the classic case of man born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He never had to answer for any of his faults and lies. Mary Jo can now rest in peace. Good riddance!

This is terrible. How can we say that she died for a good cause???? Did I miss something? She was probably rapped and then left to drown and die. The Kennedys are notorious for coming such crimes. Hate to say it, but it’s true.

FYI: Just because someone has liberal political views does not mean he or she does not see Teddy for what he was: a self-absorbed piece of garbage. I have not forgotten Chappaquiddick and how enraged my also liberal mother was seeing Teddy in that lame neck brace in an obvious ploy for sympathy. If the people from MA loved this guy, so be it. The rest of us don't have to. To me, Teddy was an embarrassment to the liberal causes I believe in. Murdering scumbag.

On his special day today...TK, just like Obamanation oops, abomination...no, I spelled it right...it's a good start...Hussein will give the eulogy...good grief ought to be short as we reflect on his great life and acheivements listed below:Got bornBeat a murder rapInstrumental in Hussein ElectionFurthered CorruptionDied in bed!...Finest Acheivement!What a waste of a church, music, gas, electricity and TV space!Let us hope he is a mentor for his fellows to make that same final acheivement. We'll give em a great funeral if that will help hurry them along.

If Ted was so concerned to be caught with Mary Jo Kopechne, then why was he with her. There were a lot of fellows that would have been proud to have her care about them. All this guy could do was try to figure out how to distance himself, while she breathed the last bit of air that was left for her. Some said that keeping Ted out of the White House was a fair exchange for the life of Mary Jo Kopechne, but Mary Jo Kopechne didn't get to make this choice. I remember when Ted died not wanting to speak ill of the dead, but Ted being a self-serving assclown did not end with the loss of Mary Jo Kopechne's life.

Hit the tip jar, you ungrateful bastards!

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